Pence continues drumbeat for states’ rights

"He's touching all the conservative base groups and trying to position himself somewhere in between Ted Cruz on the right and Jeb Bush on the left, as a moderate conservative," Joseph Losco, chairman of Ball State University's political science department, says of Gov. Mike Pence.
(Photo:
Matt Detrich/Indianapolis Star
)

INDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Mike Pence repeatedly invoked the name of former President Ronald Reagan, a champion of federalism, during a speech Friday.

He called on renewed Republican leadership to not just cut spending, but reduce the size and scope of federal government.

He described Indiana as a beacon of state-based solutions and a leader of state-based reforms.

And he even joked about agreeing with those people who say the country's next president should be a governor.

"I'm certainly sympathetic to that view," Pence said, drawing laughter from members of the Indianapolis Attorneys Chapter of the Federalist Society. About 50 lawyers, judges, professors and public officials attended the luncheon at the JW Marriott.

For the most part, though, the governor continued his familiar states' rights theme — and he was preaching to the choir.

The Federalist Society is a group of conservatives and libertarians who support the principles of separation of governmental power — that states exist to preserve freedom and that a judge's duty is to interpret the law, not create it.

Pence, too, was perhaps continuing to subtly broaden his appeal as a potential presidential candidate in 2016, some political observers said.

"He's touching all the conservative base groups and trying to position himself somewhere in between Ted Cruz on the right and Jeb Bush on the left, as a moderate conservative," said Joseph Losco, chairman of Ball State University's political science department.

In recent weeks, Pence has repeatedly said he is humbled by those who have reached out to him about potentially running for president but has emphasized that his focus is Indiana.

At national events, he has honed in on federalism as a theme. In a late April speech before the National Rife Association's convention here, Pence barely touched on his support for gun rights. Rather, he focused primarily on broader themes of states' rights and freedom.

While states' rights isn't as much of a hot button issue for tea party activists, Losco said, it's a safe topic that won't alienate establishment Republicans or more conservative party members.

Losco recognized the theme is a departure from the more conservative positions Pence took in Congress, but said Pence is trying to show he can bridge the gap between the two factions within the Republican Party.

To Pence, the principle of federalism should be encouraged and restored back to the center of politics to bring to life what President Reagan called the "new phase of the great American experiment."

Pence said federalism was Reagan's unfinished work. He wanted curb the size and influence of the federal establishment, Pence said, and demand recognition of the difference between the powers granted to federal government and those reserved for the states.

"To me, it's at the very core of our nation, renewed energy in our state and nation," said Pence, who elaborated on the pro-growth, education and health care initiatives Indiana has created.

Nationally, he said the Republican leadership in Washington D.C. must be commanded to permanently reduce federal government by restoring to the states those resources and responsibilities that are rightfully theirs under the Constitution.

"It's exactly the way in which government should function and what the national approach should be," said William Harvey, former dean of the Indiana University McKinney School of Law-Indianapolis, after the speech. "He knows and understands government."

Brian J. Paul wasn't surprised to hear Pence draw from Reagan.

"I think Gov. Pence does identify with President Reagan, not only because Reagan championed federalism, but also because of Reagan's outlook," said Paul, a partner at Ice Miller LLP and president of the Indianapolis Attorneys Chapter. "And that was a positive outlook, a hopeful outlook, and that's the outlook Pence holds."

Whether Pence can follow in Reagan's footsteps and reinvigorate his focus on federalism from the White House is an open question.

"I think the odds are he has an excellent chance of not only running, but of perhaps being nominated," said Paul, who believes Pence is the kind of governor who can bridge the gap in the party.

Jim Bopp, a Terre Haute attorney and GOP activist, said Pence is obviously staking out core reforms for how the government functions in Washington D.C. "He's already a leader in the party because of what he did in Congress and what he's doing here in Indiana."

But he added about a potential presidential run, "There's going to be a lot of water under the bridge between now and then."

Harvey believes Pence would be a "refreshing" presidential candidate. "Republicans have a habit of not winning. He would win."

But he's not sure Pence is really moving in that direction.

"Washington is a brutal place. It's about how much can any person stand of Washington," he said. "I don't know that he's positioning himself in that way."

The Koch connection

Gov. Mike Pence is scheduled to headline Republican fundraisers in Alabama and New York later this month. The New York fundraiser is being sponsored in part by David Koch, the oil magnate and prolific Republican donor who would be a key asset in a possible Pence bid. One of Pence’s longtime aides, former communications director Matt Lloyd, recently accepted a job as Koch Industries’ communications director in Washington.